Delete Your Data from any Android Device by using Factory Data Reset

In today’s step by step guide I will show you how to delete all of your personal data from any Android powered smartphone by using the “Factory Data Reset” option. This operation might be considered by some of you way to simple to be explained in a tutorial, but I know that not all the Android users are used with the services provided by Google. That’s why I have explained all so everybody can understand what to do in order to erase the personal info from their devices. Further aspects are detailed below, so take a look.

The smartphones which are being released nowadays are high-end ones, the performances and capabilities included being more than some of us might need. Also, these devices can be used in different ways, for different jobs, sometimes reaching standards found on a regular computer or notebook. This means that the info stored on such a device is huge and nothing is more important than your personal data.

But how can we keep the data in “safe hands” without assuming risks? Well, first of all the phone is one of the personal things we possess. Therefore don’t give it to anyone and make sure you have configured one or more passwords in order to protect your personal info. In your phone internal storage memory, or on its SD card there can be saved credit card numbers, email account, bank details, or Google accounts, so make sure no one else is having access to it.

Another question referring to your personal data might be “what should we do with it when we decide to sell the smartphone?”; here I will help you out. During the present guide I will show you how to automatically erase all of your data stored on an Android based handset. You can complete this operation manually too, by deleting files and info one by one, but I don’t think you want to do this all day long.

Thanks’ to a service provided by Google and included in its Android platform you can delete all you need to from your device in just a few seconds. The service is called “Factory Data Reset” and in the following lines you will learn how to use it. Make sure you read all my explanations in order to avoid the unpleasant situations.

But before deleting stuffs, you should first save them so you can use them afterwards on another Android-based smartphone; and for doing this you can always complete a backup procedure. The backup is required each time you decide to make operation with your device like gain root access, apply OS updates, install custom recovery images or flash custom ROMs into its system.

If you don’t know how to safely backup your device you can use some services and apps from Google Play. Don’t worry; the tools are free distributed so you don’t have to pay anything in order to get them. I recommend you to use the SMS Backup + by Jan Berkel for saving the SMS / MMS messages, the android cloud for the contacts and calendar, the Astro File Manager for the Market apps and the SD card, or the PC for any other data stored on your device.

Now, after backing up your data, you can precede to the next section of this tutorial, the one that interest you the most:

How to delete data from Android smartphone by Factory Data Reset

On your phone, go to the home screen.

Then, tap on the “Menu” button.

In the menu, go on “Settings” and choose the “Privacy” option.

There should be (among other options) the “Factory Data Reset” service.

Read the disclaimer and then tap on “Reset Phone”.

The process should take a few minutes.

In the end the phone will reboot automatically.

That’s it.

Now your phone is in the exact state as it was when you first bought it. Your personal info is now erased from its memory. Also, it will run faster and the OS will work better. Remember that this guide can be applied for any Android based devices. If you have questions or if something went wrong while trying to use the Factory Data Reset service, share the issues with us, so we can help you through. Also, stay close as we will bring more guides for the Android users; fell free to ask for any other tutorial that suits your(in the comments area) problems and we will do our best in order to resolve your demands.